Cory Johnson will be joined by Brandon Wood on the AIA squad traveling next week to Poland and Germany. (Ray Acevedo)

Johnson, Wood to Tour With AIA Squad in Poland and Germany

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Junior Cory Johnson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East
[Iowa State])
and incoming sophomore Brandon Wood (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo [Highland (Ill.) C.C.]) will represent the Valparaiso men’s
basketball program as they join eight other Division I players on an Athletes
in Action team that will embark on a one-week competitive tour against teams in
Poland and Berlin, Germany later this month.

The team will depart from the states on Monday, May 18 and
begin a training camp in Katowice,
Poland on
Tuesday, May 19. The squad will then
begin play on Friday, May 22, competing in three games in Poland and two in Berlin
before returning to the U.S.
on Wednesday, May 27. The goals of this
tour are to provide a rich cross-cultural experience for each team member and
for team members to grow in their personal faith.

Athletes in Action is a Christian sports organization
that is active in 75 countries, on nearly 125 U.S. college campuses,
and with 35
professional sports teams. Numerous
Crusader basketball players and coaches have taken advantage of the
opportunity
to travel with AIA squads in the past, most notably last year, when
players Howard Little and Michael Rogers and assistant coach Chris
Sparks traveled to Poland, while players Jake Diebler and Urule
Igbavboa and assistant coach Luke
Gore embarked to West Africa. To
learn more about Athletes in Action, visit its website at www.athletesinaction.org.